User talk:Ferrazf

lwr314:

(1) You are assuming the unmodified Random that randomly tells the truth or lies (instead of randomly saying `ja' or `da'). This is fine as it is literally what the puzzle says. Read the rest of the wikipedia article to see how to modify the puzzle to get the intended meaning.

(2) Even if you are using the unmodified Random, the question "If i asked you Q would you say `ja'?" is not good enough to get the desired result. The reason is that he is saying whether or not he would say `ja' to Q when you asked him Q in another instance (at which time his coin would flip again and he could switch from liar to truth-teller or vice-versa). This is why we changed the question to "If i asked you Q, in your current mental state, would you say `ja'?" or something equivalent.

This is all in the wikipedia article. With the literal reading of the puzzle the embedded question with the `current mental state' business trivializes the puzzle. The modified puzzle (where Random randomly says `ja' or `da') is the usual (and interesting) interpretation.